Sony PRS-900 Daily Edition Review

Overview

The Sony PRS-900 is the largest member of Sony's
popular
family of ebook readers, and is their first model to offer
free
wireless service to Sony's online ebook store. The wireless is provided
by AT&T and
doesn't require monthly fees or transaction charges for connectivity to
the Reader Store.

The Daily Edition is only available in the US at this
time, and there's no word yet about an international release. Likewise,
the free wireless service does not extend outside the US.

Update: On September 1st, Sony announced upgraded versions of all 3 of their ereaders! Check the main Sony Reader reviews page for all the details. And make sure to check out the details on the new Sony PRS-950, the upgraded version of the Daily Edition.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed about the Sony PRS-900 is that the
text appears slightly darker and more defined than the PRS-600,
which is more noticeable with the smaller font sizes. The screen is
still reflective like the 600, which keeps it from having the
ultra-rich clarity of non-touchscreen ebook readers, but the improved
quality of the text and larger screen size helps to increase
readability.

Even in lower lighting conditions I've found the text is
easier to read, especially on the medium and larger font settings, but
the screen on the Sony PRS-900 undoubtedly looks best under a reading
light or lamp, and in bright areas. That's when the E Ink really stands
out against the background and looks its crispest, and the reflections
disappear.

The Sony PRS-900 really doesn't feel like a "large" ebook
reader. It's only a little bigger than the 600, about 1.2-inches taller
and just slightly wider and thicker, but it makes a big difference in
the amount of text that appears on the screen. This is in part because
the 900 has a better range of font sizes, and it also has improved
landscape functions over the earlier models.

Included Accessories

The burn of the $399 price tag is somewhat quelled by the fact
that Sony didn't skimp on accessories with this model. It comes with an
AC adaptor, leather cover, travel case, USB cable, pre-installed SIM
card, stylus, and a user-replaceable rechargeable battery pack, not to
mention the free wireless.

I expected the case to be like the soft neoprene sleeves that
come with the Pocket and Touch Editions. But it's actually much nicer.
The travel case is made by Case Logic and has a hard and durable
outside with soft imitation suede on the inside. It would probably cost
about $30-$35 to buy separately. The only problem is that you have to
lift the corner of the reader out of the case to access the stylus and
to turn it on, but it's a nice addition nonetheless.

The PRS-900 and PDF Files

Because of its larger screen size and custom zoom feature, the
Daily Edition is well-equipped to display many types of PDF files.

Sony PRS-900 Video Review - Part 1

Touchscreen

Like the PRS-600, the Daily Edition features a touchscreen
that is completely unique to Sony's ebook readers. The gesture-based
functions are intuitive and make for fast navigation through menus and
books—all ebook readers will probably head this way in the near future.

Touchscreen Details

The Sony PRS-900 has a 7.1-inch touchscreen (measured
diagonally), with a pixel resolution of 600 x 1,024.

Use the stylus to add handwritten notes and to make
drawings directly in an ebook or in a separate notes application; these
notes and drawings can then be exported to your computer to be viewed
in the Sony Reader Library.

Tap the screen with your
finger or the stylus to navigate through menus, to
make selections, and to use the on-screen keyboard.

Double Tap a word to prompt
the built-in dictionary (the dictionary can also be
accessed through the main menu), and to run searches. Double tapping
the upper right corner of a page adds a bookmark.

Dragging your finger or the
stylus across the screen turns pages; if you hold down the pages keep
turning and you can see the text of each page as it goes by.

Double Tap and Drag to
highlight words and sentences.

Zoom allows you to set a dial
to your desired level of
magnification for viewing ebooks and PDFs.

Panning allows you to use the
on-screen arrows while in zoom mode to move the
view of a page. Or you can tap and then hold down to drag the view
around as you would with a mouse on a computer.

New Features

Aside from the larger screen, the Sony PRS-900 has some new
features that the other models don't have . . .

Online Reader Store and Periodicals - Free Wireless

The Sony PRS-900 connects to the Reader Store, where you
browse through ebooks and newspapers to download directly to the Reader
in seconds. The store is setup very similar to the version accessible
from your computer.

From there, you can purchase subscriptions to newspapers, with
some exclusive content to the Reader Store, and have them automatically
appear on the Daily Edition each morning via wireless delivery.

Crop Margins

The Daily Edition has a crop margins feature that allows you
to get rid of the large white border that sometimes surrounds the page,
mostly with PDFs.

I've found that this works well in some situations
and other times it does nothing; I guess it depends on the formatting
of the ebook.

The feature can be activated in both portrait and single page
landscape mode, and seems to do it automatically for 2 page view.

But
for some reason it does not remember this feature; you have to reapply
it when you leave the book and then come back.

Text Sizes

Along with a custom zoom dial, the Sony PRS-900 has 6 different font
sizes, ranging from 80% - 310% for EPUB files, 80% - 600% for PDF
files, and 80% - 260% for BBEB files. PDF files maintain their original
formatting and layout on the Small text setting.

Landscape Mode

The view in landscape mode has changed slightly. It doesn't
show the distracting grayed-out text at the top and bottom of the page
when sentences overlap into the next and previous pages. The text
remains black.

In the lower left corner of the screen there is a 3 layered
bar that shows what section—top, middle, or bottom—of the page that is
currently in view.

2 Page View

Another feature, you can choose to view two pages at a time in
landscape mode. This works quite well and what's nice about it is that
the sentences don't repeat at cut-off points as they do when viewing in
one page landscape mode, and the Reader is comfortable to hold longwise.

When viewing a PDF in 2 page view, it shows two complete pages
at once. The text is too small to read comfortably, but is nice for
visually scanning through a number of pages quickly.

The short width of the sentences are easier on the eyes and
easier to follow than in regular landscape mode, and yet there's enough
screen room to fit a generous amount of text.

Memory and Battery

The Sony PRS-900 has 2 GB of internal memory (about 1.6 GB
available to user), along
with Memory Stick and SD memory card slots expandable up to 32 GB,
making it capable of housing several thousand books and documents.

As mentioned above, it comes with a user-replaceable battery
pack and, unlike previous models, it comes with an AC adaptor. You can
still charge it the old way using a USB cable connected to your
computer if you want.

The battery life is rated at 12,000 page turns, by far the
highest of any current ebook reader. In comparison, the other Sony
models and most ebook readers in general are rated at 6,800 - 7,500
page-turns per charge.

One thing I noticed, though, if the wireless signal is weak
and the Reader Store is taking a long time to load, the battery drains
faster. It's best to wait until the little 3G icon shows in the lower
left corner of the screen to get the most out of the battery. Turning
the wireless off when not in use also helps.

When left on, the wireless automatically goes into standby
mode when you don't use it for more than 10 minutes, which draws a
minimum of power and still allows for periodicals to be delivered.

A note about the battery life: One thing I noticed, and
several others have too, is that the firmware of the new Sony Readers
sometimes says the battery is low when it really is not. This happens
in the beginning when you first start using it. The battery needs to be
charged and go through a few cycles to become properly calibrated with
the firmware, it seems.

The best thing to do is to ignore the low battery warning and
wait for the battery to drain completely. Usually, if you shut down the
Reader and restart it the battery icon will go back to whatever the
charge should be. After a few cycles of completely draining and
recharging the battery it should solve the calibration issue.

Cons

No internet browser.

Can't download free public domain or library ebooks via
wireless.

The screen reflects light at certain angles; this bothers
some more than others (a reading light can solve this).